Tech

Tech

Ahead of the Curve: Novel morphing wing may reduce aircraft’s fuel use

A prototype aircraft wing has demonstrated in its first flight tests that its morphing might save fuel.

Tech

Shape shifter shifts twice

Certain plastics known as shape-memory polymers switch to predetermined shapes when triggered by heat or light. Now, researchers have developed more-versatile versions of such polymers. When heated, each of the new triple-shape polymers switches to a second shape. Then, at a higher temperature, the plastic changes to a third form. “For some applications, [these] more-complex […]

Computing

What a Flake

New ways to simulate ice-crystal growth yield patterns remarkably similar to the beautiful and intricate shapes of snowflakes and may shed light on how those real-life shapes come about.

Tech

A nano–cheese slicer

Stringing a carbon nanotube between two needles yields a nanoscale cheese knife that could improve slicing of biological samples.

Tech

Crusty Old Computer: New imaging techniques reveal construction of ancient marvel

Scientists have figured out the arrangement and functions of nearly all the parts of a mysterious astronomical computer that was recovered from a 2,000-year-old shipwreck.

Tech

Safety practices surveyed

Nanotechnology companies and laboratories largely rely on the same safety practices that they use when working with conventional chemicals, an international survey reports.

Tech

Ancients made nanotech hair dye

A hair-darkening paste invented thousands of years ago forms lead-and-sulfur nanocrystals remarkably similar to those made in today's nanotechnology labs.

Tech

Cleanup Speedup: Device improves oil-spill recovery

By adding grooves to the surface of a common oil-skimming device, researchers recovered up to three times as much oil as they do with smooth-surfaced devices.

Tech

Unstoppable Bot: Armed with self-scrutiny, a mangled robot moves on

Roboticists have made a walking machine that carries on despite serious damage.

Tech

The Little Chill: Tiny wind generator to cool microchip hot spots

By generating a tiny cooling wind, a microscale silicon needle armed with a powerful electric field has demonstrated its potential as a new way to cool increasingly hot microchips.

Tech

Teasing Apart Nanotubes: Fast-spun carbon fibers may feed an industry

Researchers have devised a way to sort carbon nanotubes by size and electronic properties.

Tech

Muscling up colors for electronic displays

Researchers have found a way to provide the complete color palette for television and computer screens.